Perfect for use in games and simulation projects.

The Martin Marietta X-24 was a cutting-edge American experimental aircraft developed under a collaborative research program between the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA, known as PILOT (1963–1975) — an acronym for Piloted Low-Speed Transport. This program was part of a broader effort to explore lifting body designs — aircraft shapes that generate aerodynamic lift without traditional wings — in support of future spacecraft that could re-enter Earth's atmosphere and land like an aircraft rather than descend via parachute or splashing down in the ocean. The X-24 was one of several lifting bodies tested during this era and was intended to examine unpowered atmospheric reentry and precision landing capabilities — crucial knowledge that would later influence the design of the Space Shuttle. The original version, the X-24A, featured a bulbous, teardrop-shaped fuselage with stubby fins and no wings. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine, the same type used in earlier X-planes like the Bell X-1.

The aircraft was air-launched from a modified B-52 Stratofortress at high altitude. Once released, the pilot ignited the rocket engine for a powered climb and maneuvering phase. After burning its fuel, the X-24 would transition into glide mode, relying entirely on its lifting body shape for aerodynamic control as it descended and executed an unpowered landing on a dry lakebed, typically at Edwards Air Force Base. In 1973, the X-24A was extensively modified into the X-24B configuration. This version had a more angular, flying wedge shape, improving aerodynamic performance and providing better handling characteristics during the glide and landing phase. The X-24B's design more closely resembled the proposed shapes of reentry vehicles like the Space Shuttle, making its test flights especially valuable.

The X-24 program, alongside other lifting body aircraft such as the M2-F2, M2-F3, and HL-10, proved that wingless vehicles could be precisely landed by a human pilot after reentry — a radical concept at the time. These findings directly informed NASA’s Shuttle Orbiter design choices and demonstrated the feasibility of runway landings for space missions. In total, the X-24 program completed over 40 successful test flights, significantly advancing aerospace knowledge in the field of reentry dynamics, flight control without wings, and piloted atmospheric return vehicles.

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